Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. Sells 10,562 Shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)

Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. trimmed its holdings in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB - Free Report) by 23.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 33,618 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 10,562 shares during the quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.'s holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $1,537,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in U.S. Bancorp by 0.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 135,371,282 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,051,096,000 after buying an additional 502,776 shares during the last quarter. Davis Selected Advisers grew its position in U.S. Bancorp by 0.3% during the second quarter. Davis Selected Advisers now owns 14,228,444 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $564,869,000 after buying an additional 43,437 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 0.7% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 13,312,930 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $528,523,000 after buying an additional 94,841 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 12,376,977 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $491,364,000 after purchasing an additional 325,374 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 3.9% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 9,852,013 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $478,118,000 after buying an additional 373,559 shares in the last quarter. 77.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

U.S. Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:USB traded down $0.41 during trading on Friday, reaching $49.90. 13,145,858 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,371,176. The company's 50 day moving average is $46.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $43.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $77.85 billion, a PE ratio of 15.45, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. U.S. Bancorp has a 52 week low of $36.49 and a 52 week high of $51.76.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.04. U.S. Bancorp had a return on equity of 12.91% and a net margin of 12.92%. The company had revenue of $6.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.90 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.05 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that U.S. Bancorp will post 3.93 earnings per share for the current year.

U.S. Bancorp declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, September 12th that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

U.S. Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This is a positive change from U.S. Bancorp's previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. U.S. Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.16%.

Insider Transactions at U.S. Bancorp

In other news, insider Jodi L. Richard sold 25,000 shares of U.S. Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.03, for a total value of $1,225,750.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 129,790 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,363,603.70. This trade represents a 16.15 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.23% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

USB has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of U.S. Bancorp from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $54.00 to $57.00 in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on U.S. Bancorp from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of U.S. Bancorp from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $51.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Thursday, October 24th. DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $49.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $48.00 to $46.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, U.S. Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $51.22.

About U.S. Bancorp

U.S. Bancorp, a financial services holding company, provides various financial services to individuals, businesses, institutional organizations, governmental entities, and other financial institutions in the United States. It operates through Wealth, Corporate, Commercial and Institutional Banking; Consumer and Business Banking; Payment Services; and Treasury and Corporate Support segments.